


somebody once told me

by lumheis



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 99 line shrek fic basically, Alternate Universe - Shrek Fusion, Anesthesia, Established Relationship, Gen, Humor, M/M, Plot Twists, Plotless, Secret Tunnels, Secret World - Freeform, Wells - Freeform, mark is in duloc and he's confused thats the fic, technically mark lee/shrek but i'd rather not have that in my stats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumheis/pseuds/lumheis
Summary: Mark has no idea how he got here. In hindsight, looking into a well labeled “Secret Tunnel” may not have been the best idea.(after falling down a well, mark enters a secret world… the secret world of Shrek?)
Relationships: Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 9
Kudos: 47
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	somebody once told me

**Author's Note:**

> dont let the shrek fusion tag scare you away please

Mark has no idea how he got here. 

In hindsight, looking into a well labeled “Secret Tunnel,” and then falling headfirst down said well may not have been the best idea. 

Mark lands on something soft, groaning from the fall; the well went on for ages, and it felt like he was traveling into another dimension. 

The first thing he notices is how bright the bottom of the well is. 

The second thing he notices, as he stretches out his limbs onto a soft material, is that he is not at the bottom of a well. Opening his eyes, he scans his surroundings.

He’s landed on some sort of clearing, completely encapsulated by a thick bushel of grand oak trees; all of which tower threateningly over him, sunlight filtering through their mighty branches. To his left runs a body of water, covered with a small wicker bridge. The water is a murky green, and he scrunches his nose in disgust at the muddy smell that wafts through the air.

 _It’s a swamp,_ his mind supplies. 

Getting up, he turns around, still taking in his surroundings. In the middle of the clearing lies the stump of what used to be a large tree, large patches of grass and luscious vines travelling up the side. Smoke pours out from the top of the stump, pumping out into the air to form a clouded atmosphere. 

Squinting, he does a double take— is that a door? He follows a crude path towards the door. If someone lives in this tree stump, maybe they can help him. 

It’s not ideal asking a stranger who lives out in the swamp for help, but it’ll have to do. Raising a fist he pounds on the molded door, paying no mind to the lamp that falls down from the force of his knocking. 

“Oi!” A deep voice yells out, highly disgruntled. Rumbling footsteps come from inside the house, getting closer and closer. “What are you doing in my swamp?”

The door swings open, and the sight that greets Mark is shocking. 

There, standing a mere 3 feet in front of him, is Yukhei. 

Yukhei, who happens to be his boyfriend— in the real world. Except something in his gut tells him that his Yukhei wouldn’t be living in a tree stump, or in a swamp. Nonetheless, he relaxes at the familiar face, sagging over in relief. 

“Yukhei?” The mind shattering relief that fills him at the presence of a familiar face temporarily keeps him from losing his mind right then and there. “Where are we? What is this place??”

More silence. The man in front of him shuffles his feet around awkwardly. “Who?” 

Standing up straight, Mark blinks owlishly at the person in front of him. And it’s at that moment he registers something strange; Yukhei is green. 

Not green with jealousy, or green as in he’s sick; green as in his skin is the same shade as the grass beneath their feet. How that flew past him the first time is a mystery in itself. 

Green Yukhei huffs, folding his arms around his chest. “You going to say something or can I close the door?” 

Mark ignores the slight Scottish twang Yukhei speaks with. Instead of explaining himself, he blurts out the only thing on his mind. “Why are you green?”

“Green?” Yukhei raises a hand, flipping it back and forth in front of him. “This is how I normally look.”

“You look like Shrek,” Mark states bluntly. The more he scrutinizes the other, the more truth his observation holds. Despite the green skin, the other is also wearing a canvas button up, paired with a leather vest. Mark quickly looks past his tight-fitting plaid leggings, gaze landing on ratty black boots. 

"I hope I do,” Yukhei chortles, waggling his eyebrows when Mark’s gaze lands on his flexing biceps, “Considering that’s my name. I don’t know who this ‘Yukhei’ guy is that you speak of.”

Oddly strange to say for someone who looks exactly like him. Although the resemblance is uncanny, Mark concludes that the stark differences —his green skin— might mean that this isn’t the Yukhei he knows and loves. 

In fact, he almost looks like Shrek. 

Wait. 

“You—” Mark gapes, eyes flitting towards him and their surrounding landscape. The dots are finally connecting, to a conclusion Mark would rather not make. “Am I,” he feels faint thinking about it. “Am I in _Shrek_? Like the movie?”

Before Yukhei can open his mouth to respond, Mark’s knees give out. 

“Woah,” Yukhei reaches out a steadying hand. “Come on, you can come and sit inside.”

Inside of the tree stump is no better than being outside; it’s still a dimly lit, grassy area that smells like mud. The only difference is that it’s furnished, with the same wood from outside. 

Mark beelines for a rickety oak chair, dropping down on it so fast that he almost falls backwards. Yukhei stands across from him, in all of his green-skinned glory. 

“Uh,” Yukhei taps his foot awkwardly. Mark mutters something about Dreamworks. “Are you okay?”

“No.” 

“Okay, I should’ve expected that,” Yukhei — _Shrek_ — admits. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Where am I?” He starts simple. This is a question that shouldn’t make his head spin too much. 

“Duloc.” Yukhei says. He says it so normally, that it makes Mark accept that fact that he’s actually in some strange universe fused with his own life and Shrek. At least it isn’t something worse. 

“Duloc.” Mark nods. “Cool, cool.” 

He vaguely remembers Duloc being some sort of city or town in the Shrek movie, which further supports his conclusions: he’s somehow landed in the Shrek universe. 

He explains his situation now that he's got a handle on where he is exactly, and Yukhei takes it well. In the world where dragons and ogres exist, it would make sense that Yukhei would easily accept travel between worlds. 

Mark is about to explain where Earth is, when a loud knock interrupts him. 

“Hello? We’re here to see one hunky ogre!” A voice croons, the knocking on the door growing insistent.

“Let us in before I burn the door down.” another voice threatens. 

Yukhei pales, looking at Mark and then at the door. Mark raises a brow, but motions for him to answer it. 

“Coming!” Yukhei says unsurely, cracking open the door. 

“Why are you hiding? Are you having a bad hair day?” 

The voices sound exactly like his own two friends back home, and if the trend of this universe continues, he knows exactly what to expect.

Yukhei makes a not so subtle cutting motion with his hands to ward off the visitors; they pay him no mind. 

“Why are you doing that?” The Hendery-voice guffaws, pushing past Yukhei and into the house. “It looks like you’re trying to—”

He trails off, mouth open in shock at the unexpected visitor. Although he’d expected it, the sight of the Donkey fusion still catches him at a loss for words. 

Hendery has— donkey ears? Granted, it’s better than him walking on all fours, or worse— being an actual donkey. There’s a grey flash of movement behind him, and Mark looks away. He doesn’t want to know if that was a tail or not. 

“Why’d you stop at the door?” The Xiaojun-voice chides, pushing past him. “Did you legs stop working—” 

Xiaojun also stops, gaping at Mark. 

He’s obviously the dragon in this universe, with a vibrant magenta mass of hair on his head, and iridescent-pink scales lining his face. He too, has animal-like ears, but instead of donkey ears, they’re a pair of webbed, reptilian-like ears: A dragon’s. 

“So,” Yukhei claps his hands together, breaking the sound barrier. “I believe introductions are due?”

Xiaojun and Hendery introduce themselves: politely, with a hint of curiosity and apprehension. Mark mumbles out a meek _“hello,”_ and leaves it like that.

Yukhei explains the situation, which they easily accept. It must be a regular occurrence. They settle down quickly, chatting amongst each other. It seems like this is a tradition for them. Conversation flows normally, and Mark listens in, content in processing his new reality for a little longer. 

“Nope,” Mark raises his hands in surrender, after Hendery mentions the _Tooth Fairy._ “I’m not doing this. It’s getting weird.”

“Is he talking about me?” Hendery asks, ears flattening. Xiaojun reaches a scaly hand out, rubbing the back of his neck comfortingly. 

“Just ignore him babe,” Xiaojun whispers, narrowing his eyes at Mark. “He’s not from here.”

Mark’s eyes widen in horror. “Are they a thing?”

Yukhei nods.

“I’m going to go find another well to fall down,” Mark bemoans, “I can’t handle this.”

“I can’t handle them either sometimes,” Yukhei supplies unhelpfully. “Especially on Sundays.”

 _“Attention!”_ A shrill voice cries from outside, amplified by the feedback of a megaphone. 

“Don’t tell me,” Yukhei groans, lumbering towards the window. Looking outside, his face sours even more. 

_“A little birdy told me that you’re fostering an interdimensional traveler,”_ the voice croons, through the blaring megaphone. _“Hand him over!”_

“I thought you ate that tiny man,” Yukhei looks back, shooting Xiaojun a scornful look. 

“I did!” Xiaojun defends, “He must’ve had an evil twin.”

“If there’s a version of him that’s more evil, I’d rather not meet him,” Hendery cuts in, sprinting towards the door. 

"How did he already find out about Mark?"

“Uh,” Mark whips his head back and forth between the panicking inhabitants of the room. “Who?”

“Lord Farquaad. Or I guess, his evil twin.” Xiaojun answers. 

“Can’t you just—” Yukhei puffs his cheeks out, imitating the way a dragon would blow fire. He accompanies the motion with his hand, waving around like how a fire would spread. 

“And leave you homeless?” Xiaojun scoffs, “I’d rather not have you crash on our couch for an indefinite amount of time.”

_“Not handing him over? Guess I’ll have to come in myself!”_ Farquaad says again. Despite being a total stranger in another universe, Mark can’t help but think how familiar the megaphone voice sounds. 

“Oh shit,” Yukhei exclaims, grabbing Mark by the arm. “We have to go.” With herculean strength, Yukhei pulls them towards the back door. 

“Where are we going?” Mark asks, allowing Yukhei to manhandle him outside. “Is he coming for me?”

“Probably,” Yukhei answers. They’re travelling into the forest behind the swamp, and Mark prays that Yukhei knows where they’re going. “That freak has always had it out for the unknown, and you coming from another universe definitely checks off all of the boxes.”

Behind him, the silhouette of a short man comes into view. “Stop right there!” Looking past his shoulder, the neverending nightmare that Mark’s been in gets even worse.

Running at them, a solid foot shorter than normal, and with a terrible Dora-esque bowl cut is Ten. Or at least, this universe’s Ten.

“I found you!” 

Ten points a gloved finger at them, and Yukhei tugs on Mark’s arm, forcing him to move. 

Farquaad-Ten is catching up, and Mark grows increasingly panicked. They run past a rather large oak tree, and Yukhei veneers behind it, pulling Mark along with him. 

His head slams against the tree. “Ouch,” Stars swim throughout his vision, “Watch your strength—”

“Shh,” Yukhei shushes him, bringing a green finger up to his lips. He looks past the tree, and Mark holds his breath when Ten’s approaching entourage gets louder and softer, signalling that he’d moved on. 

It’s here that Mark gets a good look at Yukhei, face mere inches away. Despite the whole green situation, Yukhei’s face is still just as beautifully sculpted, the soft furrow of his brows as he listens to their surroundings a welcome distraction to Mark’s adjusting-to-secret-world ventures. 

This is so cliche, why did Yukhei have to be Shrek of all characters— and not even his human form. 

“Mark—”

“What?” he refocuses, heart suddenly pounding a mile a minute. 

“Mark—” Yukhei says more insistently, his voice is so loud, like it’s coming from all directions. Which doesn’t make sense, considering he’s standing right in front of him. 

He’s too close to his face; close enough that Mark can count the eyelashes fanning across his lime complexion. Mark finds himself oddly attracted to him. The anguish from their peril of 5 minutes ago vanishes into thin air, replaced by Mark’s desire. “Dude,” he breathes out, looking into Yukhei’s large, swamp-like eyes. “Are we about to kiss?”

Yukhei’s face screws up in confusion, “What?" he brushes it off, leaning in closer. "Mark, are you awake?”

The rejection stings a little bit, but Yukhei's words strike him with confusion. _Awake?_ He turns his attention back to the man in front of him, but his face is nothing but a blur; facial features all muddled into a green mess.

The sun is shining even brighter, and Mark blinks rapidly. After each blink, the world grows more unclear, until he can't recognize any parts of the land. By now Yukhei is a mere green blur, melding into the landscape behind him to form a mass of different colors.

A bright, almost fluorescent light pierces through the colors, burning Mark's retinas until it's too much. Screwing his eyes shut, Mark pushes down the bubble of panic as the light gets even brighter behind his closed eyelids. A faint static sound rings in his ears, and Mark feels a sense of Deja Vu; this is exactly what he'd felt when he'd entered the world.

Maybe this is his ticket out, he thinks hopefully, and this odd secret Shrek world he's been blasted into can become a figment of his memory.

Beneath his closed eyelids, he can see nothing but brightness. The static ringing is getting even louder, until it's all he can hear.

It stops.

"Mark?" A familiar voice asks, clearer than ever under the newfound silence.

Slowly he blinks open his eyes. As his vision refocuses, he comes face to face with someone familiar.

Yukhei stares down at him in concern. “Are you okay?"

His jaw aches, and it feels like his mouth is full of cotton. "Mmmph," Mark says eloquently.

“Nice,” Yukhei giggles, and Mark belatedly realizes that his skin isn’t green. “Does it hurt?”

 _Does what hurt?_ “Mmmphghh,” he says again. Why can’t he speak? Did the Shrek universe do something to his speaking ability?

“Oh yeah,” Yukhei scratches his head sheepishly. Reaching a large hand out he gently cups Mark’s cheek, carefully pulling something out of his mouth. 

As it turns out, the culprit behind his hindered speaking ability was literal cotton in his mouth. Mark smacks his lips together, wincing at the stale taste left by the cotton. “Where am I?” He mumbles. It hurts to speak; must be an inter-dimensional travel side effect. 

“You got your wisdom teeth out.”

_Oh._

And just like that, a load of memories wash over him, explaining everything through his anesthetic-muddled brain. He isn't in some far off land, where the characters of Shrek are sentient beings— he's in a dentist's office.

“Is sleeping beauty awake?” A loud voice veneers in, sound grating to Mark’s addled brain. 

“Shut up,” another voice, softer but still just as jarring chides. “It looks like he just woke up.”

Mark looks towards the source of the voices, blood pressure skyrocketing when he sees Hendery and Xiaojun’s grinning faces looking down at him. 

Confusion is the only thing on his mind now, as he tries to make the connection between Shrek and getting his wisdom teeth out. 

It hits him all at once. “Oh my god,” Mark mumbles. 

Xiaojun furrows a brow, leaning in concernedly. “Are you okay?”

“I was so nervous last night that I stayed up until 4AM reading self-insert Shrek fanfiction.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Xiaojun exclaims, mouth curling downwards. 

“I just had a dream that I was in the Shrek universe while I was under.” Mark explains, as if it explains anything. To Xiaojun, it doesn’t. 

Hendery nods knowingly. “Ah, that makes sense,” he places a comforting hand on Mark’s shoulder. “I had a dream that I was in the Naruto-verse when I got my wisdom teeth taken out.” 

“Sounds like a nightmare.” 

Yukhei, who’d tuned into the conversation a couple minutes ago, makes the connection. “Wait, so is that why you kept calling me ‘Shrek?’”

Mark nods. 

“Your boyfriend thinks you look like an ogre,” Hendery cackles, wiping tears from his eyes. 

“And you were the donkey,” Mark supplies helpfully, unaware of the source of their bemusement. “And you,” he points a limp wrist at Xiaojun, “were the dragon.”

“Take _that_ ,” Lucas says triumphantly, “You guys were the side characters who get together for no reason!”

“I went through a secret tunnel,” Mark mumbles. “It was like an alternate dimension.”

“Okay babe,” Yukhei says, more amused at what he’s saying than anything else. He pats Mark’s swollen cheeks lightly. “Let’s get you home.”

**Author's Note:**

> and then mark forces lucas to binge every shrek movie and television media out there + books front row tickets to the broadway adaptation. it’s never ogre. 
> 
> i swear this had to do with secrets…. mark fell down the secret tunnel….  
> shoutout to ten for creating an intimate connection between nct and shrek characters 
> 
> see u for reveals! mwahahaha


End file.
